Box Butte County extends moratorium on commercial energy projects and issues RFP for zoning updates

Zoning Administrator Mike Johnson reported on the NPZA conference and recent legislation and the Board of Commissioners voted to seek formal bids to update the county's Zoning Regulations.

Chairman Steve Burke moved to accept the Planning Commission’s recommendation to issue a request for proposals for zoning regulations; the RFP is due in the County Clerk’s office by 4:00 p.m. on May 13, 2026. The board specified a limited scope for the work to cover floodplain rules, airport-related requirements, multi-family residential standards, energy development, fee structures and penalties. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

Commissioner Mike Sautter then moved to extend the moratorium on the development of commercial energy production that had been in place, setting the new expiration for March 18, 2028, or until the Zoning Regulations have been completed. The motion, seconded by Commissioner Brett Ditsch, passed on a unanimous vote of the three-member board.

The RFP deadline and the moratorium extension mean no county approvals for commercial energy projects will be processed locally until either the moratorium expires or the updated zoning regulations are adopted. The board did not set specific timelines for staff review of RFP responses; implementation steps and staff assignments were not specified in the transcript.

The action follows the Planning Commission’s recommendation; Mike Johnson’s update referenced the NPZA conference and new legislation as background for the regulatory review. The board did not identify any ordinance or state statute in this segment that changes local authority; next formal steps will be the RFP process and subsequent Planning Commission or board hearings on drafted regulations.